The status of the ITER CODAC conceptual design

CODAC orchestrates the activity of 80–120 Plant Systems in normal ITER operation using a set of dedicated networks. Interlock systems protect ITER from potentially damaging operating off-normal conditions, using a segregated network. Safety systems protect the personnel and the environment and the nuclear safety systems will be subject to licensing.The principal challenges to be met in the design and implementation of CODAC include: complexity, reliability, transparent access respecting security, a high experiment data rate and data volume since ITER is an experimental reactor, scientific exploitation from multiple participant team experiment sites and the long 35-year-period for construction and operation.Two non-technical challenges drive the CODAC design. Firstly all technical plant systems follow an “in-kind” procurement model, as opposed to a direct commercial contractual relationship with suppliers. Secondly, the period of procurement will, itself, be long compared with the evolution of technologies in the fields of control and data acquisition.This paper addresses the various phases from definition of procurement agreements through to on-site commissioning of the project.